Moringa Forest update

9 September 2018

The Moringa trees we started as seeds in the winter and planted out in April are now well over our heads, maybe 3 metres tall.  They really seem to like the on-contour beds manured and wood chip mulched in the winter. 

 A random plant in the Moringa bed turned out to be a pumpkin, which is spreading like crazy and has six fattening pumpkins at the moment

 The fattest pumpkin

 Moringa trees in flower - the bees love them

 At ground level, starting to look a bit forest-y?

One of the flowering trees has started to produce pods - long dangly ones, so we're hoping there will be a seed harvest soon.

A rash of visitors

6 September 2018

An out-of-the-blue phone call alerted us to Dave's ex-lifeboat buddies being in town.  So the September visitors started earlier than expected, with the knock-on effect of late nights and less work getting done.  Nice to see people though.

Andy, Gordon, Dave, Ernie and Mike - the advance party ahead of further arrivals on Sunday and again on Wednesday, lots of meals out to be had!

Limewash

5 - 9 September 2018

While the scaffolding is still in the Music Room, we can finally get to the last areas that need limewashing: all the spaces above the ringbeam that we couldn't reach easily by ladder.

 First section: side triangle and quartered circle - taped and first coated

 The puppy is getting bigger.

 And so, it seems, are the geckos!

 Centre of the wall, cleaned and taped ready for liming

On to the final section: loads of sheeting to protect the lower walls and door.

Work on the glasshouse

2 - 5 September 2018

While we finish the ceiling indoors, Rowan and Jade are at work on the glasshouse frame.  South-facing, it's hot out there.

 Hard to see, but Jade is lifting the first piece of roof glass up to Rowan

 Rowan seals it in place

 Rigging a working shade using tent poles to lift the fabric over the work site

Jade starts chipping out an area of rot and worm ingress in one of the beams

Completing the roof insulation

1 - 4 September 2018

Three rafter spaces left, but we're pretty slick at this by now, and everything is painted and ready to go, so up we went and finished the job.

 Just a little placeholder: a photo of its box taken with the new camera

 Three spaces to go.  First one with batons in and insulation

 The freshly plastered corner, still looking very damp

 First space completed, moving on to the second (last)

 Second space completed.  Final one to do.  Dave at work with the feather duster, clearing our cobweb collection.

 Last screws of the last section.  The roof is now entirely insulated.  Hurrah!  We finished quicker than we hoped, and still with time to limewash before our visitors arrive.

I love the smell of plaster in the morning ...

31 August 2018

It's been a long time since we did any plastering, and I found I really enjoyed finding my buckets and trowels and rubber gloves and smoothing those walls out like the old days.

We had been all set to get on with the last three ceiling boards in the Music Room, when Dave's son Rob rang to say his accommodation for mid September had fallen through, and could he and family stay with us.  No problem, of course, but it made us re-think the work that needs doing in the Music Room - could we get the ceiling done, the upper wall sections limewashed and the last open panel plastered before they came?  It swiftly occurred to us that we needed to prioritise the plastering, if it was going to be dry enough to limewash when we do the rest of the upper sections, so Dave set the mixer going.

 The first mix in many months - love that limey smell!

 The panel causing the problem is the one where we had a big hot air pipe to warm the bedroom from the little stove in the music room.  Now we have the big stove in the living room - which warms the bedroom too, the pipe has been removed and the panel closed up.

 Meanwhile, Rowan has been round and has set Jade (just visible skulking in the shadows) to work preparing the 'greenhouse' (passive solar warm air maker) for fitting the glass roof.  Nice if this gets done for this winter.

 With half a barrow of plaster left, we thought we might as well deal with the disruption and do the other side of the unplastered panel (in the bedroom) at the same time.  So I set up all the paraphernalia: plaster and trowels in bucket; protective sheets; water mister; staple remover for all the old staples in the woodwork (from when the bedroom was lined with rugs); staple gun and staples for the blue plastering mesh; roll of blue plastering mesh; wet and dry towels to clean the woodwork afterwards; masking tape for electric fittings; second bucket of plaster and rubber gloves.  

Phew! - for such a small space there's a lot of equipment to cart around.

 Finished.  With just enough plaster to complete the job.  Because the squared off section had rough batons framing it, I wanted to lose them in the wall, which meant that the whole section up to the roof boards had to be given an overcoat of plaster.

 Then I put the bedroom back in place around it.  Just got to remember not to poke it with anything for a few days.

A sneaky shot to catch Jade in action when she wasn't looking!

No matter how humble ...

28 August 2018

Home again from a whirlwind trip round northern England - we find ourselves easily fazed by the traffic in the UK these days - given that we find a drive to Lefkas town more than exciting enough for us! 

So, very nice to be back, even if the dog had gone completely manic while we were away, and the house had taken a lightning direct hit which had fried the internet and phone.  I had bought a new camera at the airport, since the last one wouldn't focus properly any more, and took a couple of photos to celebrate our return - and remind us for posterity just how dreadfully scruffy our living conditions are!

 View from the temporary home of the sofa towards the kitchen

 and towards the stairs.  

Not long now, we hope, until we have floors and furniture and curtains like normal people.

I forgot to take a photo of the enormous courgette we found in the garden on our return, before I cooked it, but this is it stuffed and roasted.  Very tasty.

UK visit

19 - 26 August 2018

Just a week in the UK, trying not to be too much of a burden at my Dad's, so we went first to see Dave's daughter and her two kids to check how they were doing.  Then to Dad's to see how he was after being in hospital, and finally a couple of nights in Ormskirk catching up on baby Noah.

 Clare, Jake, Dave and Leo

 Me and an eagle owl, on our trip out on the North Yorks steam railway

 George, Noah (fascinated by the guitar), Mum and Dave

George, Noah and Phillie

Changing Weather

15 - 17 August 2018

Round about now I got some bad news from the UK, my Dad was in hospital, so we decided to get a last minute flight and go to see him. So work on the ceiling stopped, while we prepared for being away for a week.  Rowan and Paris agreed to come to stay again, as well as Naomi who agreed to take on the crazy hound.

 Storms came early this year, lashing us with much needed rain for the garden.

 On one of the dog's visits to the poo-pen, I spotted this very unusual little creature, unfortunately the camera focus is battered by life in a building site, and I couldn't get a close-up.  I've never seen anything like it before, though.  A spoon-shaped beetle?

The dog hugs the fridge in an effort to get cool.  She has a new, larger collar, as she has already grown out of the sweet little puppy one we bought her.

Half done boards and some ramblings

12 - 15 August 2018

We pressed on with the ceiling boards for the next couple of days, each space taking one morning, with extra time needed to cut the fiddly bit round the chimney (and then put in some trim to cover the mess we made of it!).  In our defence, the concrete of the chimney was rather lumpy, so we had to cut the board wide to fit over the lumps.

 The dog doing one of her increasingly infrequent sweet moments - the rest of the time she's got us run ragged, trying to teach her what she can and can't do.

 Yet another muslin flyscreen curtain, so we can work in the Music Room with the door open

 One of the few advantages (so far) of having the dog - I get to see some spectacular early mornings!

 A bowl of garden produce picked for supper

 Cutting the board round the chimney

... and the space where it fits.  Three spaces done, three to go.